Note: We’ve been notified that this bike is now sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc

Rory is a a fan of RSBFS and CSBFS and sent us his story and his Ducati 900SS that he has offered up for sale. When I read what his thoughts were before buying this great Ducati, and now that he is putting up for sale, I have changed my mind a little bit about people who bring their motorcycles into the house instead of riding them.

I chuckled when the previous owner told me that after a painstaking restoration, he felt that the bike was now too nice to ride. He was replacing it with a new Mike Hailwood Replica, a bike he would have no trouble riding hard, and he wanted to put the 900SS on consignment at my Ducati dealership. I was happy to do it – the bike was flawless and he was the ideal seller: A true enthusiast who was extremely knowledgeable and very anal. Not only was he able to deliver every receipt and communication from his years of ownership, but miraculously he also had what looked like every receipt from the time the bike was delivered new! He had not only the original bill of sale, but also the warranty card and the pre-delivery checklist – all in the original dealer envelope.

Like most everyone else on the planet, I had lusted for a ’74 750SS for many years, but had never been able to scrape together the funds as they continued to outpace my budget. Some months earlier, another customer had located a 750SS in Australia and we were several progress payments into a complete restoration of the bike for him. I was never going to be able to write those kinds of checks, but with its period style upgrades, this 900SS was a surprisingly close alternative.

It didn’t take long before my Sales Manager was bringing me offers on the 900SS. The last thing that I needed was another bike, but this kind of classic is hard to come by – even if you spend your days doing nothing else but motorcycles. I had to buy it.

I took it for a couple of short rides, but mostly it sat in my showroom, getting the attention it deserved. It caught the eye of a journalist and ended up being featured in the March 2001 issue of Rider magazine. After I sold my shop, I was desperately short of garage space so I prepped the Ducati for long-term storage, and put it in my living room.

I’m really not that into doing the bike show thing, and for regular riding I’m much more comfortable with my early BMW GS or my nothing special M900. I realize now that I’m no different in this regard than the previous owner: the 900SS is just too nice to ride – at least for me. It’s crazy to have something like this and not enjoy it and/or show it, so I’m seeing if someone else out there wants to take a turn (and chuckle at me).

I’m really not that into doing the bike show thing, and for regular riding I’m much more comfortable with my early BMW GS or my nothing special M900. I realize now that I’m no different in this regard than the previous owner: the 900SS is just too nice to ride – at least for me. It’s crazy to have something like this and not enjoy it and/or show it, so I’m seeing if someone else out there wants to take a turn (and chuckle at me).

The bike is a battery and fuel away from running (I’m actually keeping current on the brake fluid changes and turning the engine over regularly). It has over 30K miles showing, as the previous owners clearly didn’t share my aversion to riding it. The original owner actually did some epic cross-country tours on it. The attached Rider article has some of the bike’s history, but here is some additional detail:

Bike

Close ratio gearbox

40mm Dell’Ortos

Imola cams

Sydney Tunstall built bottom end and heads

V2 stator

Ported heads

750SS Fiberglas tank

Right side shift conversion

Factory race style high pipes

Ceriani Shocks

Spares

Original tank, side covers, dual seat, and turn signals

Conti replica mufflers and one Conti

Many takeoffs such as fork springs, clip-ons, sprockets, etc.

Misc. gaskets, filters, cables

Original spare parts catalogs for 900SS and 900SD

Copy of factory service manual

Owner’s manual

Original Bill of Sale, Warranty card and PDI checklist

All service documentation and parts receipts from new

It’s always a bit of a challenge to put a value to something like this. Based on auction results and people still in the Ducati biz, this should bring somewhere near the mid to high 20’s. If you’re not thinking the same, we probably shouldn’t waste each other’s time. Otherwise, I would be happy to provide additional info or photos.